Improved anchor



`UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE@ GEO. COFFIN, 0F JAMAICA PLAINS, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED ANCHOR.

Specificationformingpart of Letters Patent No. 48,370, dated June 27, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GEORGE OoEErN, of Jamaica Plains, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Anchors; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full,

i clear, and exact description thereof, which will 4 are-,'rst, to ob'viate all liability ofthe ship ridin g to a foul. anchor, so called, whenthe anchor i has reached the ground by the bighting or looping of its slack chain about the shank andthe then upper end of its stock, which now often occurs in the use ot' anchors with the ordinary formv of stocks, the man ydisadvanta ges of which are evident; second, to prevent the anchor coming home and the liability of its iuke or palm being broken when anchored in rrn and uuyielding ground from the frequent heavy strains which come upon the anchor by the rolling of the vessel in rough seas;y third, to obviate all danger of the' breakage of the shank between the stock and its shackle-ring as the anchoris weighed; fourth,to enable the anchor to be stowed away in a small space when not desired to be used; and,f1fth, to construct the anchor in such a manner as to considerably lessen itsweight without decreasing its strength, the advantages of which, with regard to convenience in handling and economy in expense, are important'.

. Having thus generally stated the objects in the production of the present improvements in anchors, l will now proceed to describe in detail the manner in whichI Vsecure the saine, reference being had to the accompanying plate of drawings, in which- Figure lis a side view of the shank of the anchor with its stock represented in section and Fig. 2, asectional view taken in the plane of theline a: x,Fig.'1; and Fig. 3, a detail view.

a a, in the drawings represent the shank of the anchor, in the lower end of which is hung a curved arm, b, havingupon its outer ends `ukes or palms o, as in the ordinary anchors.

cl is the stock, attached to the forked end j of the shank at right angles thereto and to the direction of the duke-arm, the twoprongs g g of the said forked end passing entirely through the stock, and each having inserted in their outer ends a pin, 11 to hold the 'stock in place, which pins, when desired to stow the anchor away, are driven out in any proper mauner,' thus allowing the stock to be easily detached from the shank, whereby a smaller amount of vspace is required 'i'or storage than with anchors having their stock and shank 'formed in one piece orsecured together in the modes heretofore practiced. The stock dismade rounding or inclined on in its lower sides, kk, in an outward direction from the shank, with each ofits ends l lbent over into a hook shape, and has the middle portion, m, of its side edges formed in such a manner, as seen in Fig. 2, that after an anchorage has been secured, the stock then generally lying in a horizontal position, or nearly so, upon the ground, the edge of the stock in .direct contact with the same shall stand at such an Iinclination thereto that should the duke yield in the least degree in its hold upon the ground, or its arm be broken in consequence of a hard and unyielding surface, (both of which frequently occur in the use of anchors as hitherto constructed, because of a severe pull or strain thereon from the rolling ofthe vessel in a heavy sea, thus causing the anchor to come horne,) the stock will imme. diately embed itself, as it were, within the ground as it dra-gs along upon the same from the pulling of the anchor-chainby the rolling of the vessel or from any other cause.

In case, when at anchor, the stock of the anchor, in lieu of resting directly upon the ground in a horizontal position, as above described,

should stand at a vertical inclination thereto,

as often happens, resting then upon the ground by one of its hook ends, the yielding of the anchor in such cases would also be prevented by the then embedding of the hook end in the ground as beforev described for the edges of the stock, and as is evident without further description.

In addition to the above-stated advantages in forming the stock of the anehor with hook ends and inclined side edges, it may be here mentioned that by the embedding of the hook or the edge, as the case may be, in the ground,

as described, a considerable portion ofthe strain is not only relieved from the duke-arm and transferred to the stock, but also the resisting'power of the anchor is thereby in a -great measure increased.

Within the opening n at the center of the stock d, and swinging' upon a shaft, o, extending across the same trom one side to the other, and in the direction of the length ofthe stock, is a short connecting-band, p, having between its outer ends and turning upon a pivot, q, of the same at right angles to the plane of motion of the band, a block, fr, on the outer end of which is a swiveled shackling-ring, s, to which the anchor-chain is attached.

-By hanging the chain to the stock of the anchor by means of the connecting-band p, to which the shackle ring is swiveled, as described, in weighing the anchor the strain which has heretofore come upon the projecting portion of the shank to which the shackle-ring bighting of the slack anchor-chain about the stock as the anchor is dropped is entirely prevented, for the reason that as the slack of the chain becomes taken up it can freely slide oft' the stock because of its rounding shape.

Having thus described my. invention, I claim as new and desire 'to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The form of the anchor-stock herein described, the same consisting in makingits end cfa hook shape, with inclined or rounding sides, and With flanged or inclined sideedges, either when combined together in one and the same stock or when used separately, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. Making the end of the shank to which the stock of the anchor is secured in a forked shape, fastened to and within the stock byl means of pins or their equivalents, substantiall y as described, and for the purpose specitied.

3. Hanging the shackle-ring to which the anchor-chain is hung to and within the stock of the anchor by means of a connecting-band, arranged and operating as described, and for the purpose set forth.

GEORGE COFFIN. Witnesses:

BENJ. H. GURRIER, SAM. COVERLY. 

